myanmar

MEKONG ECONOMICS

Women’s education has a positive, multifaceted role in development. The most obvious positive outcome is gender equality for each individual woman, a key goal in any development agency’s goals and particularly so in the case of ICRW. The education and life skills training that ICRW is providing to garment factory workers in health, finance, and social entitlements can be used to their benefit both inside and outside the workplace by empowering the women to have a great voice and greater role in decision making. Following the successful completion of the pilot testing of P.A.C.E. program in Gap outsourced manufacturing garment factories in India and Cambodia, the program was rolled out in other countries including Vietnam, Bangladesh and China. Under this contract, ICRW would like to conduct quantitative research/a survey of selected participants in the Cambodia factory.

Women’s education has a positive, multifaceted role in development. The most obvious positive outcome is gender equality for each individual woman, a key goal in any development agency’s goals and particularly so in the case of ICRW. The education and life skills training that ICRW is providing to garment factory workers in health, finance, and social entitlements can be used to their benefit both inside and outside the workplace. Education and basic training in health and finance do not only positively affect the individual being educated; it affects everyone else in her household, husband and children included. Also, workers with more education are more adaptable, more productive, and can use advanced technology more easily than those without an education. Health education benefits the factory because healthier workers will miss less days of work. For these reasons, workplace educational programs can be very beneficial for both workers and factories. It is thus important to measure the outcomes of the ICRW garment factory education programs so that all participants may reap maximum benefits.

Quantitative Research Survey for the GAP P.A.C.E program’s Baseline Study in Vietnam

Following the successful completion of the pilot testing of P.A.C.E. program in Gap outsourced manufacturing garment factories in India and Cambodia, the program was rolled out in other countries including Vietnam, Bangladesh and China. As part of the P.A.C.E. program roll-out in one of Gap Inc.’s partner factories in Vietnam, ICRW wanted to undertake a baseline survey in selected garment factory in Vietnam. The objective of this study was to collect baseline information for the P.A.C.E. participants, female garment workers (FGWs), that undergo P.A.C.E. training, and then compare the information with end-line results to evaluate the effect of training on women’s livelihoods. The present scope of work is only limited to conducting the baseline survey. ICRW would like to conduct quantitative research/a survey of selected participants in the unit of Vina Korea in Khai Quang Industrial Zone, Vinh Yen City, Vinh Phuc, Vietnam. The survey was conducted in the month of May 2011. ICRW facilitated the discussions and processes for conducting the baseline survey with the factory partners.